Ultraframe Northern Account Manager, Lucy Russell, and her fiancé Ben, live in a 1930’s semi-detached property in Burnley, Lancashire, which the previous owner had lived in for 40 years. They bought the house as a complete renovation project, working through every room to transform it into a contemporary home. A key part of the renovation was the addition of an extension to create a modern open-plan kitchen/diner. As they neared the time for their extension plans to become a reality, Ultraframe was finalising its revolutionary new hup! building system and Lucy knew it was the perfect choice for their project.
The hup! system consists of a fast to build and highly energy efficient wall solution that can be used in conjunction with any Ultraframe roof to create any style of extension.
Explaining about their desire for an extension, and the reasons why hup! was the perfect choice for them, Lucy said: “When we bought the house, we had a very small kitchen and our boiler and utility facilities were in an outhouse in the garden which wasn’t ideal. Our plan was for an internal utility and although this was the main driver for the extension, we also wanted a modern, sociable open plan kitchen/dining/lounge area to entertain our family and friends.”
The hup! system offers a huge number of benefits vs a traditional build using bricks and mortar.
hup! at a glance:
• Five times more energy efficient than the average UK home, hup! uses Building Regulation compliant materials.
• Fewer trades needed for easy project management – no brickies, just one conservatory fitting team.
• Five times faster to build than traditional methods, hup! enables installers to collect cash quicker. 10m² of wall can be assembled in minutes.
• Manufactured off site, there is no cutting needed on site, reducing waste and time.
• Ultimate design flexibility – choose your own wall finish and windows & doors, and design, specify and price each project in easy-to-use software.
• With rising material costs, the price of your hup! specified in the software won’t fluctuate, helping you quote with confidence.
• Engineered by Ultraframe using BBA approved technology and manufactured in a BBA approved factory, with hup! you can be assured of a consistent high-quality finish.
• Comprehensive training means that fitting teams are confident and competent.
Continuing, Lucy said: “Anyone building an extension wants it done as quickly as possible to minimise mess and hassle and this was even truer for us, as we were in the midst of a complete house renovation – so the fact that hup! can be built in days was a massive benefit to us. The energy efficiency was also a huge factor for us in choosing hup! as we wanted to create a large open plan space which we knew could be tricky to heat etc if we didn’t get the build right. hup! is five times more energy efficient than the average UK home and all of the materials used exceed Building Regulation requirements.”
Lucy and Ben were keen that the extension should be in keeping with the 1930’s property and chose a simple lean-to style topped off with an Ultraroof with full-length glazed panels. The old kitchen and dining room were knocked together and with the hup! extension, this created a large open plan room. Within the extension, a cleverly concealed pocket door provides access into a utility room which also features a glazed panel in the roof, meaning that all of the wall space is usable for cupboards. The exterior was finished in white render and a large set of anthracite grey bi-fold doors.
The new space is a beautiful, light-filled modern room and Lucy and Ben are delighted with the result as Lucy explained: “hup! allowed us to have a quick and easy build and we are so pleased that it was available for us to use for our extension. As well as looking amazing, the hup! technology offered many benefits during the build – our boiler is housed in the utility and we needed a quick build turnaround as the house was without heating/hot water until we had a solid watertight structure. By using hup! the build was watertight within just 2.5 days, and we were able to reinstall the boiler whilst still working on the external finishes. The Ultrapanels used within the hup! walls are slimmer than traditional brick and mortar builds so we were able to maximise the internal space. We love the full height glazing panels and the flexibility of where we could place them. We are absolutely thrilled with how our hup! extension has transformed our home and can’t recommend the system enough. The glazed panels bring in tons of light, we have the all-important internal boiler/utility and we love entertaining in our beautiful new space.”
